26 July 2011

40 zones extending to Woden and Gungahlin town centres [With poll]

| johnboy
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gungahlin 40 zone

Simon Corbell has announced the rollout of 40km/h zones in the Woden and Gungahlin town centres:

The 40km/h trial will run from August 2011 to January 2012 and operate on a full time basis (24 hours a day, seven days a week).

“The safety of pedestrians and all road users is important and this six month trial will provide the government with a great snapshot of how the 40km/h speed limit can better protect Canberrans in town centres,” Mr Corbell said.

“Implementing safer speed limits in areas of high pedestrian and cycling activity is a proven road safety measure, as identified in the National Road Safety Strategy and the ACT Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan.

“The ACT government has been investigating the option of introducing 40km/h areas around shopping centres where there are high levels of pedestrian and cyclist movement following community consultation that occurred in 2009.

“Research indicated that the introduction of a 40km/h speed zone can significantly reduce the risk of death for vulnerable road users. For example, a 10km/h decrease in speed can reduce the risk of death for pedestrians and cyclists by over 50 percent.”

The 40km/h speed limit will be applied to the core retail areas of the Woden and Gungahlin Town Centres.

Mr Corbell said traffic calming measures such as speed humps will be installed as part of the trial and signage will be erected to alert people to changed traffic conditions.

Simon promises there will be an evaluation and consultation on the results of the “trial” but anyone who remembers how 50 zones were rolled out will be taking the evaluation to be more about tweaking the boundaries than the concept, and how far to go in the other town centres.

40 zones in town centres

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UPDATE: Above is the proposed Gungahlin 40 zone and this is the Woden one:

Woden 40 zone

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Gungahlin Al11:05 am 28 Jul 11

PS: glad to see they extended the area down towards Magnet Mart after we pointed out their draft plan omitted the College – presumably a de-facto school zone anyway.

Gungahlin Al11:03 am 28 Jul 11

It is true that Hibberson St is a joke with the major Flemington Rd piped into it. Original plans showed it connecting instead to Anthony Rolfe Ave. But I can only assume it was re-routed by the LDA in order to deliver immediate traffic in order to attract prospective shopping centre land buyers. It worked, but like many short-term plans, the tax payers and users end up footing the bill to fix the stupidity.

This is why GCC has been continuing to pursue a shared zone for Hibberson St. But not a mall, which often ends up a security nightmare at night. Business owners are comfortable with a shared zone because it is attractive to shoppers during trading times, yet there is some casual surveillance during night.

But we need the Valley Ave extension through to Gundaroo Drv (behind the car wash) to be completed so there is an effective ring road for “through” traffic, then the town centre can be throttled down for “destination” traffic and pedestrians. It is scheduled for completion with the next 2 years.

So until then, 40kph around our town centre will have to do it.

Childers St *was* a good shared zone, but they took the traffic choke points out when construction started on the student accommodation at the orth end. Now drivers treat it like a 60kph street. I can only hope that the chokes are put back when the building is finished.

BTW: have you seen the speed bumps filled with non-Newtonian fluids? They flatten if you are driving at the right speed, but go instantly hard if you hit them too fast – like cornflour and water. http://www.gizmag.com/bumpfree-dynamic-speedbump-gives-you-a-smooth-ride/14156/

And I was merely trying to say that it I do not agree that it is necessary to always base decisions on measurable criteria. Sometimes common sense is a better base for decisions than stats and figures… And weighing up the possible improvements against the impact of the change.

Also, I don’t think this is just an issue about safety either. Maybe ‘perceived safety’. It is about making the town centres more pleasant places for doing what people do there, which usually involves walking around lots.

Look at me! Without flailing arms! 😉

dpm said :

Watson said :

dpm said :

I’ve got no problem with this except, as m_ratt has mentioned, it seems to be based on research into pedestrian safety as various speeds, and is not linked to real data on how many people are injured here. Are these blackspots for pedestrians?
What they should have presented was the problem (the number of injuries etc on those roads – not presented), the research (as sited), the proposed trial details (presented), and how they are going to evaluate its effectiveness (not presented).
It’s probably a good idea, the whole thing just looks a bit sloppy really – kinda like they are randomly picking causes to crusade for.

Maybe they could temporarily up the speed to 100kph for a year, and keeps stats on how many pedestrians die, then lower it to 60kph for a year, and again take note of the fatalities and then they could implement the 40kph and compare the figures after a year? You’d have to make sure that drivers would actually drive at those speed limits though, to make sure that they do hit the pedestrians that are supposed to get hit and don’t mess up the stats. Because not being able to reliably measure these differences would be dreadful.

I was just saying that of the various traffic problems seen in Canberra, this one surpirsed me as being next on the top of their priority list – and after reading the media release hoping for more enlightenment regarding the seriousness of the problem, they didn’t really sell it to me that well. I think they could’ve done that better, personally. Having said that, i’m happy for it to happen but you’d be lucky to notice they’d implemented it in Woden (never been to the other place!) as traffic is terrible, mostly.
But I see we’ve reached the ‘go-to-sledgehammer-sarcasm-to-justify-my-point (with arms flailing!)’ part of the thread. When forum discussions degenerate to that level (or worse still, a stupid and exaggerated analogy-the lowest of all ‘debate’ responses!), that’s where I usually decide to check out of the discussion! And in this case, that decision is elementary, my dear Watson! 🙂

Jeezes, how else am I going to get any practice in fine-tuning my melodramatic, irrational, utterly annoying sarcasm skills???! This is it… I’ve nowhere else to go.

40km/h is the max I’d do on those roads, so it seems right at a glance. But I want it to have been the result of careful analysis of every stretch of road and traffic, not due to some blanket policy and loose definition of town centre.

Watson said :

dpm said :

I’ve got no problem with this except, as m_ratt has mentioned, it seems to be based on research into pedestrian safety as various speeds, and is not linked to real data on how many people are injured here. Are these blackspots for pedestrians?
What they should have presented was the problem (the number of injuries etc on those roads – not presented), the research (as sited), the proposed trial details (presented), and how they are going to evaluate its effectiveness (not presented).
It’s probably a good idea, the whole thing just looks a bit sloppy really – kinda like they are randomly picking causes to crusade for.

Maybe they could temporarily up the speed to 100kph for a year, and keeps stats on how many pedestrians die, then lower it to 60kph for a year, and again take note of the fatalities and then they could implement the 40kph and compare the figures after a year? You’d have to make sure that drivers would actually drive at those speed limits though, to make sure that they do hit the pedestrians that are supposed to get hit and don’t mess up the stats. Because not being able to reliably measure these differences would be dreadful.

I was just saying that of the various traffic problems seen in Canberra, this one surpirsed me as being next on the top of their priority list – and after reading the media release hoping for more enlightenment regarding the seriousness of the problem, they didn’t really sell it to me that well. I think they could’ve done that better, personally. Having said that, i’m happy for it to happen but you’d be lucky to notice they’d implemented it in Woden (never been to the other place!) as traffic is terrible, mostly.
But I see we’ve reached the ‘go-to-sledgehammer-sarcasm-to-justify-my-point (with arms flailing!)’ part of the thread. When forum discussions degenerate to that level (or worse still, a stupid and exaggerated analogy-the lowest of all ‘debate’ responses!), that’s where I usually decide to check out of the discussion! And in this case, that decision is elementary, my dear Watson! 🙂

54-11 said :

Can we trust Simple Simon to actually treat this as a trial? Like hell we can.

+1. Trial my ass. Incidentally, I’m ok with the 40kmh zone in those areas. You can’t safely go faster than that in those areas, anyway.

milkman said :

Perhaps we could have a wider review of speed limits, as there are some which (in my opinion) need to go up, and some that need to to go down.

(tee hee, go down)

Agreed. Unfortunately the government have their heads too far up their rears to make sensible decisions like that.

smiling politely10:19 pm 27 Jul 11

I think they need to extend the Woden one down to Worgan St incorporating Furzer St – that’s pedestrian-heavy during weekdays between Aviation House, IP Australia and the new DoHA buildings and is a fair one to be at 40kmh. Special shout-out to the guy in the white V8 commodore who hoots up Furzer St every morning after dropping his missus off at Health.

…and someone mentioned Childers St, which is probably one of the dumbest f#cking streets in this town. I can understand the benefits of a shared zone when it’s a simple two way street without any roads coming in/off it, but with DAFF being there now and loads of cars going through there using it as a short-cut between Marcus Clarke St and Barry Dr it’s a poor candidate for the shared zone idea.

joingler said :

Hibberson Street is a joke come peak hour right now anyway. Having a major road (Flemington) dissolve into nothing is pathetic planning. Flemington needs to be extended northwest into Anthony Rolfe Ave and then Anthony Rolfe needs to be widened to a dual carriage way. Then make Hibberson Street a pedestrian only mall. This solves all safety issues in the Gungahlin Town Centre for Mr. Corbell.

I don’t know Woden well enough to come up with a plan just as brilliant for them

Nuke it and start again!

maybe Westfield,s could rent out pedestrian air bags for bone heads that can’t look left and right before crossing the road.

Hibberson Street is a joke come peak hour right now anyway. Having a major road (Flemington) dissolve into nothing is pathetic planning. Flemington needs to be extended northwest into Anthony Rolfe Ave and then Anthony Rolfe needs to be widened to a dual carriage way. Then make Hibberson Street a pedestrian only mall. This solves all safety issues in the Gungahlin Town Centre for Mr. Corbell.

I don’t know Woden well enough to come up with a plan just as brilliant for them

Watson said :

Maybe they could temporarily up the speed to 100kph for a year, and keeps stats on how many pedestrians die, then lower it to 60kph for a year, and again take note of the fatalities and then they could implement the 40kph and compare the figures after a year? You’d have to make sure that drivers would actually drive at those speed limits though, to make sure that they do hit the pedestrians that are supposed to get hit and don’t mess up the stats. Because not being able to reliably measure these differences would be dreadful.

I think thats a great idea. I love the darwin theory and this should work quite well.

bitzermaloney said :

. (Do they realise how retarded they look?)

Does anyone?

bitzermaloney12:45 pm 27 Jul 11

Seems like a complete waste of time and money given you can’t go 40 through the Woden area.

Next will be Bunda St in Civic. Personally I love see the tourists during school holidays trying to work out how to get out of there. Though 11pm at night it probably should be a 40k minimum to move along the doof doof lowered lancer’s that think they are the beez knees. (Do they realise how retarded they look?)

dpm said :

m_ratt said :

So, what is the metric to test the effectiveness of the trial? Reduction in pedestrian deaths?

Seems like the only valid metric given the research results cited: “Research indicated that the introduction of a 40km/h speed zone can significantly reduce the risk of death for vulnerable road users. For example, a 10km/h decrease in speed can reduce the risk of death for pedestrians and cyclists by over 50 percent.”

No mention of any other intended/expected benefits…(how many pedestrians have been killed in Woden/Gungahlin? 50% of zero is still zero.)

More speed humps though.. Woohoo. Gotta be better than the new speed humps on Flinders Way though – 60km/h zone with new speed humps each with a recommended speed of 20km/h, but safe to do at 60km/h in a wide enough car. What’s the point except to inconvenience small car drivers?

Sure, it may not be safe to do more than a crawl on a number of those streets at certain times, but people have worked that out already (and those that haven’t won’t pay attention to this anyway). No need for 24/7 speed limit reduction though.

I’ve got no problem with this except, as m_ratt has mentioned, it seems to be based on research into pedestrian safety as various speeds, and is not linked to real data on how many people are injured here. Are these blackspots for pedestrians?
What they should have presented was the problem (the number of injuries etc on those roads – not presented), the research (as sited), the proposed trial details (presented), and how they are going to evaluate its effectiveness (not presented).
It’s probably a good idea, the whole thing just looks a bit sloppy really – kinda like they are randomly picking causes to crusade for.

Maybe they could temporarily up the speed to 100kph for a year, and keeps stats on how many pedestrians die, then lower it to 60kph for a year, and again take note of the fatalities and then they could implement the 40kph and compare the figures after a year? You’d have to make sure that drivers would actually drive at those speed limits though, to make sure that they do hit the pedestrians that are supposed to get hit and don’t mess up the stats. Because not being able to reliably measure these differences would be dreadful.

toadstool said :

While on the subject of speed limits, why has Mugga Lane been reduced from 80km/h to 70km/h between the pound and the tip?

Perhaps the number of roadside memorials are a hint

I-filed said :

astrojax said :

Chief Ten Beers said :

Australia. World’s biggest Nanny State.

well, off ya toddle, then, to colombia or ethiopia or the democratic republic of congo or some other blissful utopia to indulge some anarchy… let us know how you go.

Actually Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, has a 40kph speed limit within the city limits …

bugger.

m_ratt said :

So, what is the metric to test the effectiveness of the trial? Reduction in pedestrian deaths?

Seems like the only valid metric given the research results cited: “Research indicated that the introduction of a 40km/h speed zone can significantly reduce the risk of death for vulnerable road users. For example, a 10km/h decrease in speed can reduce the risk of death for pedestrians and cyclists by over 50 percent.”

No mention of any other intended/expected benefits…(how many pedestrians have been killed in Woden/Gungahlin? 50% of zero is still zero.)

More speed humps though.. Woohoo. Gotta be better than the new speed humps on Flinders Way though – 60km/h zone with new speed humps each with a recommended speed of 20km/h, but safe to do at 60km/h in a wide enough car. What’s the point except to inconvenience small car drivers?

Sure, it may not be safe to do more than a crawl on a number of those streets at certain times, but people have worked that out already (and those that haven’t won’t pay attention to this anyway). No need for 24/7 speed limit reduction though.

I’ve got no problem with this except, as m_ratt has mentioned, it seems to be based on research into pedestrian safety as various speeds, and is not linked to real data on how many people are injured here. Are these blackspots for pedestrians?
What they should have presented was the problem (the number of injuries etc on those roads – not presented), the research (as sited), the proposed trial details (presented), and how they are going to evaluate its effectiveness (not presented).
It’s probably a good idea, the whole thing just looks a bit sloppy really – kinda like they are randomly picking causes to crusade for.

Thoroughly Smashed said :

Can you explain why you need to travel at 60 km/hr through a pedestrian-heavy zone?

Not need, but the Gungahlin case is complicated by the stupid way Flemington Road (a major artery) suddenly turns into pedestrian-friendly Hibberson. It’s as though Barry Drive turned into Bunda Street to get through Civic. Fine if you know where to turn off, a pain if you don’t.

toadstool said :

While on the subject of speed limits, why has Mugga Lane been reduced from 80km/h to 70km/h between the pound and the tip?

I don’t know, but it’ll add at least 5 seconds to my trip. My life is ruined! I might as well end it all now!

(My sarcasm is not aimed specifically at you… I have spent too much time on this website reading complaints about speed limits and it has damaged my brain.)

While on the subject of speed limits, why has Mugga Lane been reduced from 80km/h to 70km/h between the pound and the tip?

Its impossible to go faster than 40 through Gungahlin town centre anyway. There are busy pedestrian crossings everywhere, plus people who run out all over the place without looking.

Thoroughly Smashed said :

Chief Ten Beers said :

Australia. World’s biggest Nanny State.

Jesus tittyf***ing christ. Seriously?

It’s easy to make accusations about the “world’s biggest blah” when you haven’t been anyway or done any research.

World’s biggest idiot! – for example.

Thoroughly Smashed10:22 am 27 Jul 11

magiccar9 said :

This is absolutely ridiculous! How many incidents have occurred to warrant this speed decrease? Perhaps if the pedestrians pulled their heads out of their asses and payed attention once in a while the drivers could continue to focus on DRIVING! – not watching out for every codger not looking when they cross the road!

Can you explain why you need to travel at 60 km/hr through a pedestrian-heavy zone?

Thoroughly Smashed10:21 am 27 Jul 11

Chief Ten Beers said :

Australia. World’s biggest Nanny State.

Jesus tittyf***ing christ. Seriously?

This is absolutely ridiculous! How many incidents have occurred to warrant this speed decrease? Perhaps if the pedestrians pulled their heads out of their asses and payed attention once in a while the drivers could continue to focus on DRIVING! – not watching out for every codger not looking when they cross the road!

dtc said :

A few weeks ago, one rainy Sunday afternoon, I was stopped by a police while going through the ‘shared zone’ along Childers St and shown the radar gun: 40 km/h.

I was told that, in fact, the shared zone has a speed limit of ……10 km/h.

As such, potentially a v large fine (imagine being 30km/h over the limit while travelling at 40 km/h). Anyway, I was let off and told the guy was just warning people following an accident earlier that day.

Now I was very surprised it was 10 km/h, so subsequently I went back to check the signs. Sure enough they are 10 km/h but the sign is about the size of a ‘school zone’ sign (rectangular) and the top 2/3 of the sign says’ shared zone’ and then there is a tiny little ’10’ at the bottom.

I realise its a big construction zone at the moment and previously there were single lane sections. But a shared zone needs single lanes, speed humps, multiple cross walks (eg Manuka). Do it properly, don’t wait until some poor schmuck fails to notice a tiny little sign saying 10 km/h

Its a shared zone, an area shared with pedestrians – not a road dedicated primarily to cars but with a special speed limit. You’re also meant to give way to pedestrians everywhere along that space. I make no comment on the wisdom of such an idea.

The 40k zone in town centers makes a lot of sense – they are destinations and motorists tend to be finding their way to parking spot and set downs, not passing through to go somewhere else. Both zones are easily by-passed unless you’re actually going to the use centers.

A few weeks ago, one rainy Sunday afternoon, I was stopped by a police while going through the ‘shared zone’ along Childers St and shown the radar gun: 40 km/h.

I was told that, in fact, the shared zone has a speed limit of ……10 km/h.

As such, potentially a v large fine (imagine being 30km/h over the limit while travelling at 40 km/h). Anyway, I was let off and told the guy was just warning people following an accident earlier that day.

Now I was very surprised it was 10 km/h, so subsequently I went back to check the signs. Sure enough they are 10 km/h but the sign is about the size of a ‘school zone’ sign (rectangular) and the top 2/3 of the sign says’ shared zone’ and then there is a tiny little ’10’ at the bottom.

Now:

– school zones are populated by tiny little children with no idea and have an apparently ‘safe’ speed of 40 km/h, whereas Childers St is occupied by uni students and the odd artiste who should know better (well, ok, maybe not too much difference there); and

– school zones get large orange sign, multiple warnings etc about the change to the speed limits, while Childers St gets a tiny little speed notice, which is often hidden behind a big sign saying ‘changed traffic conditions ahead’

If there really is an intention to make this 10 km/h (a ludicrous speed, most auto cars will do 10 km/h when in gear, even without any accelerator usage) then surely greater warnings etc need to be provided.

I realise its a big construction zone at the moment and previously there were single lane sections. But a shared zone needs single lanes, speed humps, multiple cross walks (eg Manuka). Do it properly, don’t wait until some poor schmuck fails to notice a tiny little sign saying 10 km/h

KeenGolfer said :

Chief Ten Beers said :

Australia. World’s biggest Nanny State.

It’s quite the opposite, we’re lagging behind most 1st world countries which have been 50 kph or less for a long time in towns. The UK has had 30 mph (48 kph) limites in towns for about 80 years, we’ve only done so within the last 10 years.

Some, such as Finland have a 30 kph limit in all towns and having travelled there quite a bit, it works well for them.

I have no problem with all town centres being 40 kph due to the high pedestrian traffic in those areas. The drop from 50 to 40 driving through the town will hold you up for a few seconds at most. Seeing as many ACT drivers add 5-10, treating 50 zones as 55-60, a 40 zone many will still drive about 45-50.

Very true. These places also have higher speeds on freeways and sensible limits on country roads. A proper speed limit review to get the different zones set at appropriaye levels would be terrific.

Working in an office building in Woden I will be glad to see this, The number of people who tear down Corrinna St like it is a race track is amazinging considering there are busy buildings on both sides of the road and three pedestrian crossings.

BTW, where Mr G? I want to see his views on this.

astrojax said :

Chief Ten Beers said :

Australia. World’s biggest Nanny State.

well, off ya toddle, then, to colombia or ethiopia or the democratic republic of congo or some other blissful utopia to indulge some anarchy… let us know how you go.

Actually Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, has a 40kph speed limit within the city limits …

Chief Ten Beers said :

Australia. World’s biggest Nanny State.

well, off ya toddle, then, to colombia or ethiopia or the democratic republic of congo or some other blissful utopia to indulge some anarchy… let us know how you go.

Chief Ten Beers said :

Australia. World’s biggest Nanny State.

It’s quite the opposite, we’re lagging behind most 1st world countries which have been 50 kph or less for a long time in towns. The UK has had 30 mph (48 kph) limites in towns for about 80 years, we’ve only done so within the last 10 years.

Some, such as Finland have a 30 kph limit in all towns and having travelled there quite a bit, it works well for them.

I have no problem with all town centres being 40 kph due to the high pedestrian traffic in those areas. The drop from 50 to 40 driving through the town will hold you up for a few seconds at most. Seeing as many ACT drivers add 5-10, treating 50 zones as 55-60, a 40 zone many will still drive about 45-50.

eily said :

Don’t know about Gungahlin but if anyone can do more then 40 around those Woden streets…someone’s deluding themselves. Bradley street in particular; a single one way narrow lane.

Agree. 40kph would be an increase

So, what is the metric to test the effectiveness of the trial? Reduction in pedestrian deaths?

Seems like the only valid metric given the research results cited: “Research indicated that the introduction of a 40km/h speed zone can significantly reduce the risk of death for vulnerable road users. For example, a 10km/h decrease in speed can reduce the risk of death for pedestrians and cyclists by over 50 percent.”

No mention of any other intended/expected benefits…(how many pedestrians have been killed in Woden/Gungahlin? 50% of zero is still zero.)

More speed humps though.. Woohoo. Gotta be better than the new speed humps on Flinders Way though – 60km/h zone with new speed humps each with a recommended speed of 20km/h, but safe to do at 60km/h in a wide enough car. What’s the point except to inconvenience small car drivers?

Sure, it may not be safe to do more than a crawl on a number of those streets at certain times, but people have worked that out already (and those that haven’t won’t pay attention to this anyway). No need for 24/7 speed limit reduction though.

Chief Ten Beers10:19 pm 26 Jul 11

Australia. World’s biggest Nanny State.

30 would have been better. A person who is struck by a vehicle at 30km/h has a 95% chance of surviving.

These areas are commercial areas that rely on people walking around to survive, not highways intended to convey people through the area as quickly as possible. Pedestrian priority should be significantly higher than it currently is in areas such as this.

I wonder when Townshend and Botany Street will be lowered from the absurdly high, major arterial speed of 60km/h.

Some consistency would be nice ACT Gov.

I wonder if Australian Standard 1742.4 will be followed when any of the 40 signs are put up?

actroads.org

Gungahlin Al said :

The main street of Gungahlin (Hibberson) has been 40kph for more than a year.

No problem at all. If anything 40 is still to fast for the environment.

This just extends it to the immediately surrounding streets, which are also of low-speed driving environment.

I agree. I think I rarely get up to 40 in that main street because the pedestrian crossings are close together and there’s just too much activity going on. I don’t mind if they implement that speed limit in the surrounding streets and all town centres.

I think that makes it 100% implementation for my ALP policy initiatives I put forward 15 years go. They laughed at me then. But I showed them! Mwoooahhhahahahhahahahah!

Gungahlin Al8:53 pm 26 Jul 11

The main street of Gungahlin (Hibberson) has been 40kph for more than a year.

No problem at all. If anything 40 is still to fast for the environment.

This just extends it to the immediately surrounding streets, which are also of low-speed driving environment.

eily said :

Don’t know about Gungahlin but if anyone can do more then 40….

My thoughts exactly re Gungahlin. With the amount of cars (parked and moving), the narrow streets, buses and pedestrians crossing here there and everywhere, you have to do 40 or less to be safe and not hit anyone/anything.

Don’t know about Gungahlin but if anyone can do more then 40 around those Woden streets…someone’s deluding themselves. Bradley street in particular; a single one way narrow lane.

Perhaps we could have a wider review of speed limits, as there are some which (in my opinion) need to go up, and some that need to to go down.

(tee hee, go down)

Can we trust Simple Simon to actually treat this as a trial? Like hell we can.

We’ll have to push the cars through town centres shortly.

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